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We got This Kokanee at Flaming Gorge Oct 10th had the downrigger at 97 ft using Berkley Gulp! 2 1/2 inch Minnow, fishing for lake trout.
put it back in the water.
Fishing for lake trout is good, for 12 to 26" ers.
The Lucerne campground will close Monday
The store is all ready closed.
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Thanks for the report and pics, very surprising to see a koke with color this late in the year, especially one that deep. I wonder what the deal is with that fish, seems like all the spawning kokes should be dead by now, unless it is one of those that spawn in lake and I have no idea when they get done spawning, anyone else know?
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we saw dead kokes by the lucerne boat ramp,
and saw some red ones swimming
we got this koke at the red cliffs. It was not all the way Red.
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Thanks for the report liketrolling!
Wiperhunter2, there are two distinct runs of kokanee in Flaming Gorge the early and late run. The early run kokes are more prone to spawning in tributaries and usually start in early September, peaking around Sept 21st. The late run kokes are actually more prone to spawning in-reservoir, although some now spawn in tributaries, like Sheep Creek. That run usually starts the second week of October and peaks the last week, at least in Sheep Creek. They follow a similar schedule on the reservoir although it would also be dependent on surface water temps.
Of course there are always the outliers, that will spawn earlier and later than "when they are supposed to". I remember seeing spent fish in early August one year. I also remember some anglers catching red kokes through the ice in December last year.
Hope that helps, Ryno
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I still think any poor koke hiding out at 90+ ft in the Gorge is suicidal. It's like a strip of bacon climbing on my plate of its own free will. Still a great catch.
I have also seen some kokes pulled through the ice at multiple sites, pre spawn, in early december. Seems pretty variable.
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Nice, thanks for the report, I would like to get up before it gets too cold!
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[quote Ryno]Thanks for the report liketrolling!
Wiperhunter2, there are two distinct runs of kokanee in Flaming Gorge the early and late run. The early run kokes are more prone to spawning in tributaries and usually start in early September, peaking around Sept 21st. The late run kokes are actually more prone to spawning in-reservoir, although some now spawn in tributaries, like Sheep Creek. That run usually starts the second week of October and peaks the last week, at least in Sheep Creek. They follow a similar schedule on the reservoir although it would also be dependent on surface water temps.
Of course there are always the outliers, that will spawn earlier and later than "when they are supposed to". I remember seeing spent fish in early August one year. I also remember some anglers catching red kokes through the ice in December last year.
Hope that helps, Ryno[/quote]
Thanks Ryan….how has the Bow' fishing been?
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The reports are good, although hunting seasons have kept me from validating them in my spare time. Fish are shallow, near creeks or backs of canyons, and hitting the traditional hardware like marabous, tubes, etc. I hear the laker fishing has been excellent too, as liketrolling posted. And as usual for this time of hear, pressure is light with very few boats on the pond. Good time to play with the fishes!
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Any news on Burbot yet?
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Good info Ryan, thanks. Sounds like the in lake spawners do their thing later than I figured. So, the in lake spawners are just getting started. Do you know if it is common for those fish to spawn in water that is over 90 ft deep?
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Has the reservoir started turning over, is it done turning over or has it not even started yet? Heading up this week or weekend I hope.
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I actually looked that up and in a 2-year research effort looking at in-reservoir spawning kokanee and their spawning preferences in Flaming Gorge, the deepest they ever recorded was 54ft. It may have just been a kokanee on the way to a spawning area though. In that case it's still very deep, but some of the biggest kokes I've caught in late summer were actually from 80ft while targeting lake trout. There's good oxygen down at that depth, especially on this lower end of the reservoir. It's definitely an odd catch, but kokanee never cease to amaze me.
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The reports I've heard so far have been slow, especially for this time of year.
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The thermocline is dropping but the surface temps are still in the 50s to low 60s depending on where you are in the lake. Usually this lower end of the reservoir turns over around Thanksgiving. The northern portion is probably closer to late-October to early-November but Mother Nature dictates that. It's been really warm up here and we haven't had a whole lot of wind to stir things up either.
Good luck, Ryno
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This nice weather is giving me an itch to come up there!!
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When do they usually start to be targetable?
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They should be biting now, but I'm not sure why the fishing has been slow thus far.
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[quote Ryno]They should be biting now, but I'm not sure why the fishing has been slow thus far.[/quote]
[#0000FF]Overharvest? Yeah, right. You wish.
Usually a combination of water temps and daylight hours...right? Warmer weather likely has them still in deeper water...looking for dates for the prom.
[/#0000FF]
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[quote Yahtahay]Has the reservoir started turning over, is it done turning over or has it not even started yet? Heading up this week or weekend I hope.[/quote]
I checked the Temp. down to 100 ft, I did not right it down but, the reservoir has not started to turn over.
And I think we saw bows jumping all over the place. Did not fish for them.
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Thank you for the update on the thermocline Ryno, much appreciated. Thank you as well liketrolling, much appreciated. I will be heading up Thursday morning for the day somewhere between Lucerne and Buckboard targeting Lakers. Hopefully the SPAWN (and bite) is ON.
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